Photovoltaic solar cells have the potential to provide power well beyond the needs of the power grid and other fixed facility power needs. There is a need for power in remote locations where it is not feasible to transport batteries or fuel for generators such as in space or in remote terrestrial areas where there is not a power grid and there is not access to fuel.
For photovoltaic solar cells to be useful for many of these remote power applications requires performance characteristics that are not provided by the rigid rectangular modules used for residential, commercial, and utility scale solar power installations. The performance characteristics required for remote power applications include low mass per area or (more specifically) a high power output per unit of mass, high efficiency, the ability to tightly pack or roll the photovoltaic module into a small volume for enhanced portability (provided by creating a solar module that is highly flexible), and ruggedness to rough treatment that may occur during transport.
One method to provide a system with these characteristics is to reduce the size of solar cells to allow unique behaviors that are enhanced with very small cells. In this aspect, small and thin photovoltaic cells have been developed. These cells can be formed and then assembled by various means onto a receiving substrate providing electrical interconnects. The receiving substrate with the cells can then be packaged to provide a module with the desirable characteristics for providing remote power.